Years of necessity had taught Nate how to temper his impatience with diplomacy and he’d about given up hope that Bruce would ever learn to control his violent tendencies. A Fitzroy had been Blue River Pack alpha for seven generations, but times were different now, far more complicated. Strength and aggression were no longer enough. An alpha also needed stealth and strategy. It was a lesson Bruce needed to learn if he hoped to survive, much less rise to power.
Dhane returned with a bottle of beer in one hand and a shot of whisky in the other. Trying to rack up points with his big brother as well as his father? Nate fought back a smile. Bruce was right. Dhane was a world-class kiss ass.
The bar was teeming with people, most of them human. If this had been an official pack meeting, they’d have gathered at the Clubhouse, a private hideaway where Blue River Pack was free to indulge their wilder appetites. But Nate wasn’t sure what he wanted to do next and he never allowed his pack to see his indecision. An alpha must be strong and decisive, always in command.
Dhane slipped back in beside Bruce and slid the beer across the table. “If you don’t believe Robert’s explanation, what do you think happened to Ava?”
Robert claimed that he’d finally found the cabin where Ava had been hiding, but before he could capture her she’d literally vanished right before his eyes. “I think Kyle Lashton beat us to the finish line and Rob is afraid to admit it. I’ve heard stories of cats who can teleport, but I’ve sure as hell never met one. Besides, Ava is still latent, which means Rob is full of shit.” Nate took a drink of beer while his sons reacted to his statement.
“Then Rob should be afraid,” Bruce sneered. “He begged for the opportunity to prove himself. If he fucked this up, the others will make him pay.”
“I’ll decide what happens to Robert,” Nate stressed. “We need to reposition our efforts, refocus. If my sources are accurate, and they usually are, Carissa has been defined.”
“I said all along that we didn’t need Osric. All he did was slow us down.”
Nate waved away Bruce’s conclusion. It was more evidence of his narrow-minded view of life. “If it weren’t for Osric, we would have been kept in the dark.”
“As usual,” Dhane muttered. “Cats dominate both councils. We only have what power they allow us. It isn’t right.”
It was an oversimplification. There were more cats on the Alpha Council simply because there were more cat clans. As for the Prime Council, two of the four members were cats. But Kyle’s strongest ally was Ian Douglas and he was a bird.
Rather than correct his son, Nate said, “That’s why it’s so important that Bruce define Ava.”
“What?” Bruce set the shot glass down, gaze narrowed and intense.
It was time for a test, a final exam, one that would prove Bruce worthy of his heritage or leave him at the mercy of his own failings. The mission Nate was about to propose would require a calm, strategic mind. If Bruce rushed in filled with blind arrogance, the cats would destroy him. But if he took his time, gathered facts and chose his course wisely, he would secure a prize coveted by every unmated male in the Therian nation.
Controlling an Omni Prime would shift the balance of power like nothing else could. Nate would do it himself, but it would have to be done by force and Nate had never possessed the stomach for rape. Bruce, on the other hand, was not only amoral enough to commit such a loathsome act, he’d probably enjoy it. But first, he’d have to steal Ava away from Kyle Lashton.
He looked into his firstborn’s cold hazel eyes and fought back a shiver. “We’ve screwed around long enough. I want you to take care of this personally. Figure out where Kyle has taken her and then fuck her into submission. And I mean only fuck. I still want to try the ritual, but I’ll choose the six men who participate. I’ll say it one last time. Fuck her as often as you like, but if you define her, I’ll kill you.”
“I get it. She can drink my come just not my blood. At least not yet.” Cruel anticipation made Bruce’s eyes gleam. “Lashton isn’t just going to let this happen and he’s got the backing of the Prime Council. Do I have permission to kill a network Prime?”
“They’ll declare war on us,” Dhane muttered, his gaze shifting from his father to Bruce and back.
Already disappointed with the direction of Bruce’s thinking, Nate kept his expression blank. This was the right thing to do, the only thing to do. Bruce needed to prove himself once and for all or pay for his impertinence. “The cats already have one of the sisters. We cannot let them control both. I’ll deal with the consequences. All you have to do is bring me the girl.”